The definitive cure from temptations to head South fo Tenerife

If you are trying to escape the mass tourism of the South of Tenerife and earning for peace and tranquility, this is the place to stay. My wife and I stayed at Hotel Botanico from 20 April to 2 may 2015 and enjoyed every moment of it. We actually arrived on 18 April but left on Monday morning 20 April to head South on the Costa Adeje: we loved our first impression at Hotel Botanico but we were earning and craving for sun and warmth since we live in Switerland and were tired from a long winter and a previous, wet and dreary summer. Although we had booked for 2 weeks on a special, non-reimbursable half-board rate, the hotel management accepted to reimburse the rest of the stay. I must say this is remarkably kind and understanding from them. Many thanks and a big hug to Pino, the reception manager. The hotel was so eager to please us and intent on making us stay that they even offered us a free upgrade to an Ambassador Suite. We said no, thank you, because we truly craved for sun and warmth. So, on Monday morning we headed South to Costa Adele to stay at the Plantacion del Sur to get some sun and warmth... and, it turned out to be a big mistake: - we were badly greeted at the reception of Plantacion del Sur and our supposedly deluxe room had a view over construction works ! - the vibes of the whole environment were so bad that we took a taxi back within the hour to head North to Puerto de la Cruz. Pino was very happy to see us back and we had the impression of returning "home" when arriving at the Botanico. We were offered the same rate as that originally booked. The rest of our stay was fantastic. We enjoyed all 3 restaurants, with a particular preference for La Parilla. The buffet breakfast was outstanding and every single day so. We really enjoyed the swimming pool and my wife particularly liked the spa garden for tranquility. Walking in the hotel garden is a real pleasure and my wife and I took some nice pictures. While stalking for feeding birds, my wife managed a shot of a kestrel on the hunt for small preys. Our most pleasant moments were spent doing yoga with Hary Shankar, the yoga master of the spa. Many thanks Hary for recalling that life is a magic gift! The least pleasant experience were the spa treatments. The spa premises and installations are great but the staff appeared to us to be to much in a hurry and too amateurish. The ayurvedic treatments are not up to standards (from our point of view), especially when you compare them with the ones in Italy at Hotel Adler in Bagno Vignoni. Our greetings to all the wondeful staff at Hotel Botanico, and big hugs to Pino, Helena, Beatriz, Sergio, Sebastian and Antonio: you are all so beautiful souls ! We will definitely come back! Micheline and Philippe Rouquet